[contract extension] What is the big deal about Peyton Manning?

He is simply the NFL's greatest RSQ of all time.

 

Luckily they had that great defense because that was arguably Manning's worst postseason. He didn't play that well during that SB run.

Manning is a great QB and he deserves all the $$ that he is getting. However, Hakeem has spoiled me to expect my superstar player to play better in the postseason, and not worse. I have always said Manning is the Karl Malone of football and I stand by that statement. Some say he needs to have superhuman games for his teams to win and that just isn't true. Go look at the games where the Colts got knocked out and it usually coincides with him having a bad game.

 

Manning's QB rating in the games the Colts have been eliminated in:

2010: 108.7 (Jets)
2009: 88.5 (Saints)
2008: 90.4 (Chargers)
2007: 97.7 (Chargers)
2006: None - Won the SB
2005: 90.9 (Steelers)
2004: 69.3 (Patriots)
2003: 35.5 (Patriots)
2002: 31.3 (Jets)

Yahoo doesn't go beyond that, so I don't have the rest. But your criticism and his reputation seem to have been from early in his career. Since 2005, he's been very good in their losses.

No QB is consistently superhuman - Big Ben and Tom Brady had their share of crappy games, even in years where they won the Superbowl. Big Ben had a QB rating of 22 in his first Superbowl win, and beat the Jets this year with a QB rating of 35. That's the benefit of an outstanding defense - Manning's teams will lose 100% of the time if he has that kind of performance. The Steelers can overcome it.